Collapsible and expansible vessel.



w. M. FULTON. COLLAPSIBLE AND EXPANSIBLE VESSEL.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 19, 1915.

1,167,895, Patented Jan. 11, 1916.

' 21am MT;

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Earns m ri t-' WESTON M. rmarom'or KNoXVILLE, TENNESSEE, AssIGNoR women-mm COMPANY, or KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE, A CORPORATION or MAI E GOLLAPSIBLE LAND EXPANSIBLE YES$151.12.

-Application filed February 19, 1915. Serial No. 9,301. J I v To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WESTON M. FULTON,

resident of Knoxville, Tennessee, whose very thin metal and possess the ability of extension and contraction in a marked degree. Thisvibratory quality fits them for a variety of uses in connection with fluids sub ect to variation of temperature or pressure, such as in thermostats and in fluid pressure devices. Diliiculty has been experienced in making durable connections be tween the ends of the corrugated wall and the rigid parts ofthe apparatus in which these thin flexible walls are used. These 'of the edge of the clamping ring long before the bends in the corrugations give out.

My invention overcomes the above objec tionand has for its object to provide reinforcing flanges for the flanged ends of cor-' rugated collapsible and expansible vessels adapted to give to the end connecting portions of the wall a durability equal :to, 1f

not. greater than, that of the corrugations of the wall and which are simple in construction, require no solder and afford fluidtight joints. To this end, I provide'an annular-flange plate to match the end flange of the wall and provide thereon a, raised portion formed either on the outer rim or on the interior rim of the reinforcing flange and adapted to clasp around the first corrugation into which the end flange of the corrugated wall merges.

I have described my improvement by way of example in connection with a corrugated,

collapsible and expansiblevesse'l used in;

reducing and regulating valve, but it is -to Specification of Letters Patent. Pafigqgntefl J 1}; 1916 I be understood that the improvement may be used wherever the flanged ends of a flexible corrugated vessel are to be securedto supporting parts.

Reference is here made to the accompanying drawings, "which are intended as illustrations to assist-the description of the invention but not as defining the limits thereof. r

1 Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional view through a reducing-and regulating valve, I

having a corrugated collapsible and expansible vessel provided with myimprovement.

2 and 3 are sectional detail views showing the manner of applying both external and internal reinforcing flanges to the flanged ends of corrugated vessels. i

Referring to the drawings, Fig, 1 shows a valvecasing 1 having an externally f threaded inlet connection 2 and a similar outlet connection 3. A' partition4, having a valve controlled port, divides the valve chamber into a high pressure receiving compartment and a low pressure delivering compartment. In line with the port opening in,

e the partition and on opposite sides thereofp I are openings in the valve casing wall, one of which is closed by a screw plug 5 having 'a.

valve limiting member 6, and the opposite onening'in thewall is closedby a corrugated.

collapsible. and expansible vessel 7, the lower I 19ov flanged end of which is secured against-a" I ledge 8 within the casing wall by'means of a bonnet 9 adapted to be screwedagainst the. flange of the vessel. The top of thesbonnet 9 is provided with athreaded neck 10 over 7 a which slips a bracketmember "11 provided with upright arms 12and 13, one of whichis adapted to form a fulcrumsupportfor a I weighted damper lever 14, and the other is adapted to 'guide the lever in its'rocking movements. The bracket member-is held-in place by a nut '15 screwed onto neck 10. The

upper end of the vessel 7 is provided with I a closure 16 which is supported by the inner 4 v flanged end of the vessel by aid of a nut171 screwed onto a threaded portion of the c1o'-' sure. The closure 16 has'a connectionwith lever 14 through an'llpwardextension 18v and a link 19 having a threaded engagement with extension 18. The closure 16 supports the valve 20 by aid of'valve rod 21 whic h has a threaded connection'with the under f face of the closure.

The description up to this point recites the featutes of a well known type of valve and has beeri given with a view of showing the connection of my improvement with the bratory vessel in such valvestructure.

In Fig. .2 is shown a flexible. corrugated wall, the upper end .of which has been pro- Vi ded,-preferably.;by a spinning operation, with an nternal flange 22 which merges into i the first corrugation-23 ofthe wall and is ready to; receive my reinforcing flange 24.

The diameter .of thecorrugated wall through corrugation 23'is preferably less than that through the next outer corrugation and is l sufliciently less to receive the rim 2 of the -.re1nfor cing' flange 2et and permit the peripheral surface of rim 25 to be flush with theoutside bends of the wall. The reinforcing flange is stampedfrom a disk of soft metal, such as brass,'copper or the like, and

when it is to reinforce an outside corruga tion, as in the presentinstance, the periphery of the disk isformed'into a rim 25, the

depth of which depends on the width of the corrugation and in every case should be suf-- ficlent to clasp around more than halfof the curvedsurfacelof the corrugation with which it is to'be used. The edge of the rim is preferably tapered to athin edge to better enable it to yield with the bending of the corrugation towhich it is applied. The flat annular portion ofthe reinforcing flange is made to conform with the flat portion of the end 'fla nge of the corrugated wall. As shown in Fig. 2, the reinforcing flange is ready to 'be placed overthe end of the corrugated wall after which the rim 25 is made to conform wlth the bend 23 by means of suitable shaping tools. lit will then assume theform annular portion resting n the flat shown-in Fig. 1 at 26 with the rim hugging the outside of the bend and with theflat v portion of the 'end' flange 'ofthe vessel 7 Tn Fig. 3a flexible corrugated wall is shown which hasbeen rovided with-an ex-' ternal flange portion 2 preferably formed thereon by a spinning operation. This flange merges nto the first inner corrugation/of the corrugated wall which has at thispoint a diameter preferably greater than the dif ameter of the next inner corrugation; the exshanyk'tobe flush with the inner corrugations of the .wall. ',The reinforcing flange in the cess being sufficientto. permit the reception v of-a shank 28 of'an inner reinforcingflange 29,'while permitting theinner surface of the .p s n i reinforce a inner corrugation, and therefore. the "up turned portion of the flange is formed around the opening in the disk from which it' is made. The shank 28 is made long *enoughto clasp more than half thesurface ofithe first corrugationwhen it is inserted menses -in the end of the wall and expanded into holding position by spinning or other operation. The shank 28 is preferably thinned as described above, and the flat portion of the reinforcing flange conforms to the end flange 27 of the corrugated wall. The reinforcing flange in its final form applied to the internal end corrugation is shown in Fig. l at 30.

T he operation of my reinforcing flange is as follows. It is assumed that the corrugated flexible wall 7 is subjected to vibratory -movements due to the fluctuation of fluid bending strains than the flat connecting portions between the bent portions. of the corrugated wall. This is because the flange por tions are necessarily wider than the connecting flat portions which unite the bent portions, and the extent of bending in the flange portion is greater. The weakest part of the vessel therefore occurred where the vessel \was held by the end flanges. This weakness "has been overcome' and the wall made as strong at the points of connection as at in- I at ated parts, have been subjected to greaterterx'nediate points, by associating my reinforcing flange with the end flange and the bend into which it merges. The association of the curved rim of the reinforcing flange with the bend or corrugation of the vessel enables the latter bend or corrugation to'be held by the reinforcing flange, and thereby transfers the bending strains from the wall flanges 24 or 28 to the corrugations of the wall and therein to be distributed. With a view of further assisting this distribution of strains, the edge-of the curvedportion of the reinforcing flange is thinned down to secure flexibility therein and prevent an abrupt bending of the wall where this edge terminates. v

"W hat is claimed is:

1. In combination, a collapsible and expansible corrugated tubular wall having a flange portion extending from an end corrugation, and a reinforcing flange member lllltl) for" said parts consisting of an annular plate having an edge portion embracing said corrugation and adapted to reinforce said end corrugation and its flange portion.

2. In combination, a collapsible and expansiblecorrugated tubular wall having a flange portion extending from an end corrugation, the diameter of said wall through said corrugation being greater than that of the next inner corrugation, and a reinforcing flange member consisting of an annular plate having its inner rim turned up and bracing said'corrugation and flush with the embracing said end corrugation to reinforce the latter and its flange portion and flush with the inner corrugation of the tube.

3. In combination, a collapsible. and expansible corrugated tubular wall having a flange portion extending from an end corrugation, and a flange member for reinforcing said parts consisting of an annular plate having one rim turned up and embracing said corrugation and terminating in a flexible reduced edge. 1

4:. In combination, a collapsible and expansible corrugated tubular wall having a. flange portion extending from an end corrugation, and a flange member for reinforcing said parts and having a curved portion em corrugation located on the side to'which the flange is applied.

5. In combination, a collapsible and expansible corrugated tubular wall having a flange portion extending from'an end corrugation, and an annular plate one rim of WESTON M. FULTON.

Witnesses: B. A. TRIPP, Boer. H. ALVES. 

